Volunteers blazing a trail to reorganize a sovereign indigenous government have been overshadowed in the headlines lately, as opposition to construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea and outrage over the disproportionate number of native people among the state’s homeless population, among other concerns, dominate the public discourse around Native Hawaiian issues.
The board members of the nonprofit Na‘i Aupuni have been toiling away out of the spotlight, though, making headway on a process to convene an ‘aha — what amounts to a constitutional convention of Native Hawaiians — with the aim of having 40 elected delegates decide whether to reorganize an indigenous government, and, if the answer is yes, what form that government should take. Whatever framework is drafted at the convention would be put to voters registered on a Native Hawaiian roll to ratify — or not.
The five leaders of the nonprofit, funded by a grant from the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs but acting independently, all have ties to the Hawaiian kingdom that prevailed before the 1893 overthrow; Hawaii was later annexed as a U.S. territory and eventually became a state.
Board members met with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser editorial board recently to lay out the ambitious ‘aha timeline, to urge all Native Hawaiians to participate, and to emphasize that there is no pre-determined outcome for the convention.
"This is a historic opportunity for Hawaiians. All the pieces are in place to create the pathway to possible nationhood," said Dr. J. Kuhio Asam, board president and executive director of the King William Charles Lunalilo Trust. "We encourage all Hawaiians who want to participate to register to vote and become involved in the election of delegates, or to run as a delegate themselves."
Eligible voters and delegates will be drawn from KanaŹ»iolowalu, the Native Hawaiian voter roll that certifies ethnicity according to birth certificate or other eligible documentation; registrants must be 18 or older. Nearly 123,000 Hawaiians here and outside the islands have already registered, according to the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, and registration remains open ahead of the election of ‘aha delegates. (See www.kanaiolowalu.org for more information about how to register).
The goal is to have potential delegates officially campaigning by the end of September, elected by December and convening the ‘aha by spring of 2016. If the delegates come up with a framework for a reorganized government, it would be presented to Native Hawaiians for ratification about two months after the ‘aha concludes.
"This election process is the best opportunity since the overthrow that Hawaiians have ever had to form a reorganized Hawaiian government," said Pauline Namu‘o, Na‘i Aupuni vice president.
Board member Gerry Miyamoto noted that none of the board members will seek to be delegates or otherwise manage the actual convention. "At the ‘aha, delegates will consider all possibilities for a reorganized Hawaiian government," she said. "All viewpoints will be considered and then voted on by those delegates."
A total of three outside contractors are being hired to run and observe the private elections, which the board members likened to leadership elections in national labor unions or other professional associations, and to help organize the ‘aha. Na‘i Aupuni has hired Election-America to run the delegate election; the firm, with offices in New York, California and Washington, D.C., describes itself as a "full-service election management organization" that processes millions of votes annually and has overseen complex elections on six continents. The firm would also oversee the ratification vote, if one is needed after the ‘aha.
The board chose Election-America from among six possible vendors because it had the necessary management and technological expertise to "ensure a safe, fair election," said board member Lehua Schuelke, adding that separate contractors will be hired to provide independent third-party supervision of the election and to help run the ‘aha. That latter organization "will oversee the operational aspects of the convention, but all decisions regarding a reorganized government or entity will be made by the delegates," she said.
Ensuring that no governing option is off the table and that all Hawaiian voices will be heard is essential in an era of rising and disparate Hawaiian identity. Nationwide, according to U.S. census estimates, more than 560,000 people claim Native Hawaiian ancestry. In Hawaii, nearly 300,000 of the state’s total 1.4 million people identify as at least part Hawaiian, a number that is projected to reach 675,000 by 2060.
Within that current population are:
» Lifelong sovereignty activists who want nothing to do with the state or federal government, seek the restoration of an independent Hawaii and oppose any nation-building effort that could circumvent that goal;
» People who are equally proud of their dual American and Hawaiian identities and would welcome nation-within-a-nation status like that sought by the failed Akaka Bill;
» Those who believe that Hawaiians are so fully assimilated in modern, multicultural Hawaii that no further effort should be made to classify people by race;
» Others who barely pay attention to the issues involved.
Likewise, the heritage of Hawaiians on the voter rolls is diverse, with some whose primary ancestry is Hawaiian and others who may cite a single Hawaiian ancestor many generations ago.
Delegate candidates representing all those diverse viewpoints are sure to emerge, and Na‘i Aupuni has stressed that state Act 195, which gave rise to the current self-determination effort, does nothing to limit the political aims of Native Hawaiians in this process.
"Our message is that this ‘aha is happening, and that it’s wide open and totally neutral," said Bill Meheula, a lawyer for Na‘i Aupuni. "This is not about where OHA wants to go, or the Roll Commission, or the federal government. And more importantly, we’re not making any decisions (about the form of government); we’re just moving along the process so that Hawaiians can decide for themselves."
